Subject:
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Re: Crazy idea - analog computer
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Wed, 3 Nov 2004 12:06:07 GMT
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Original-From:
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PeterBalch <peterbalch@compuserve.NOMORESPAMcom>
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Viewed:
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1045 times
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> The Meccano machine referred to earlier is most certainly an analog,
mechanical, fixed function computer.
I happened to be in the Science Museum in London yesterday looking at the
Meccano analogue computer. I have severe doubts that it ever worked well.
The integrators relied on the friction between a glass plate and a brass
Meccano wheel. The label implied that the Meccano version was built for
lectures simply to illustrate the principles of the made-from-scratch
version: a huge machine in the next case. In yet the next case was a
beautiful brass integrator made by Lord Kelvin (I think) for predicting
tides. It looked like the readout was partly digital (with rev-counters) so
that the operator could typeset tide-tables.
> Analog computers tend to be either hard or impossible to 'program' - so
they are generally 'fixed function' - they do one thing and one thing only
and in these modern times, they are rather un-interesting and tend to be
relegated to museums.
I used one as a student to simulate parts of nervous systems. It's great to
be able to turn a knob to adjust a parameter and see the graphical result
instantly on a CRT. Doing the equivalent calculation on our IBM360
mainframe (with punched cards, etc) took 5 minutes. It's only in the last
decade that a PC would have a better response time.
> I think it would be very interesting to build a mechanical/digital • computer
> out of Lego...even more so if it were programmable...but that's a LOT to
> ask!
Can anyone suggest how to make an integrator or differentiator out of pure
Lego?
Wasn't the original question about whether to use an analogue computer
instead of an RCX?
Isn't that what BEAM robotics is about?
And I love the idea of the Dorling-Kindersley cardboard robot which is
programmed by tying knots in a piece of string!
Peter
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